Top trainer Milton Harris recovering from life-threatening clot on lungs after being rushed to hospital in Thailand

Harris' mate Des O'Connor, who runs a trailer rental company and has horses with the trainer, told the paper: "Milton went to Thailand to have a break before the season picked up in December.

"He was meeting some mates over there on a seven-day golfing trip.

"He fell asleep on the plane for nine and a half hours, which is unusual for Milton because he never stops talking.

"When he arrived he had a pulmonary embolism and they found blood on his lungs, so they whizzed him into intensive care.

"He’s been released out of intensive care today but he can’t fly home for another five days because you can’t fly when you’ve been in intensive care.

"I spoke to Milton on Sunday afternoon. He’s still doing all of the entries and they’re still running as normal.

"He’s got Racing TV on his phone and he said he’s driving everyone mad but it’s given him something to do at the hospital."

Harris has enjoyed a stellar start to this jumps season with 34 wins and a respectable 18 per cent strike rate.

Scriptwriter and Gentle Slopes have been two standout performers, both winning at Cheltenham's November meeting.

Harris has earned more than £350,000 on the track this season and looks to have a smart hurdler in five-year-old Mullenbeg.